Weekend brings with it chance of snow

April 03, 2007|By Scott Waltman, American News Writer

The weekend could bring a bit of snow to the Aberdeen area. Dave Hintz, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said an inch or so of snow could fall in Aberdeen starting early Sunday. A low-pressure system is making its way into the area from the southwest, Hintz said. The forecast calls for a 50 percent chance of snow Sunday and a 40 percent chance of snow Sunday night. He said temperatures should be cold enough that the area doesn't get freezing rain. The heart of the system will be far south of South Dakota, moving through Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois, Hintz said. Locally, snow could start falling in Redfield shortly after midnight Sunday and in Aberdeen about 6 a.m. An inch and a half of snow could fall in Redfield, perhaps 2 inches in Miller, Hintz said. The farther south, the more snow, he said. In recent weeks, residents of the South have had rougher winter weather than folks who live on the Great Plains, Hintz said. The low pressure system will dump 6 to 8 inches of snow on parts of the country that are still without power because of a recent ice storm, he said. A little snow in the Aberdeen area would have an upside, Hintz said. It would cover winter wheat, provide runoff for stock dams and prevent grass fires. Since Dec. 1, 0.93 inch of moisture has fallen in Aberdeen, according to National Weather Service statistics. The average is 0.67 inch. Hintz said 8.2 inches of snow have fallen in Aberdeen since Oct. 1. There is no season-to-date average. After a recent cold snap that featured temperatures well below zero in Aberdeen and surrounding communities, temperatures have warmed this week. "We got reminded that it's January in South Dakota," Hintz said. The average high for this time of year is about 20 degrees. The average low is about zero. Friday's high was 21, the morning low 2 below zero. The forecast calls for a high of 29 today and low of 16 tonight. Sunday's projected high is 25 with a low of 8. Monday, the forecasted high is 21 with a low of 3.